When the NFL lobs in Melbourne in September, a side-show of massive importance to the AFL will come with it.
AFL medicos are already talking about the importance of the three-day International Sports Concussion Conference to take place at the Sofitel Hotel in the CBD.
It will be the first international, multidisciplinary concussion conference ever held in Australia.
The headline act is Dr Allen Sills, chief medical officer of the NFL. He's a big deal, the man in charge of the health and safety of the sport.
Given the mounting concussion concerns in Australian rules, you could mount an argument it is the most significant sports medical conference in years.
There will be a bevy of AFL medical types at the event as clubs grapple with the hottest topic in footy.
But these conferences don't come cheaply (there is not much change from $1000 for this one), and there are rumblings about who exactly is paying.
Ideally, two to three staffers from each club would be at a conference of such importance.
But some club doctors are faced with the prospect of paying themselves to attend.
It is understood there have been discussions about the AFL subsidising the cost of one doctor from each club, and the level of club funding is still uncertain in some cases, meaning some AFL club medical staffers wanting to broaden their knowledge may have to dip into their own pockets.
Some are arguing the AFL should foot the bill for two to three staffers from each club given the importance of the event.
It is a watch-and-wait.
The conference will run around the week of the NFL game at the MCG, from September 7 to 9.
